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Talk:The Baby Goose/@comment-2601:48:0:7745:14BC:ADA7:D976:8070-20190415213831
PROLOGUE Long, long ago, when blue ponies and yellow ponies roamed the land, a deep freeze settled over the earth. As the unbearable cold spread across the plain, an ancient pig-like creature held tight to his only acorn. Food was scarce, and the piglet wanted to be sure that his meal was safe. He tried desperately to bury it, but the ice was too thick. The tiny piglet jumped up and down on his acorn, attempting to stomp it into the ground. This forced a crack in the ice---not just a small crack, but a rift that spread across the ice plain and all the way up a tall glacier. The piglet watched with fear as giant chunks of ice careened from one glacier to the next, knocking them down like dominoes. Suddenly, frozen rocks were falling as far as the eye could see. Ponyville had begun. ‘’Look at this crowd,’’ an impatient, short-snouted creature moaned as he stood in a southbound traffic jam along the migration trail. ‘’I knew we should have left early.’’ ‘’Fall’s never been this cold, dear,’’ his wife said. ‘’Everybody feels it.’’ Then, just as the restless animal thought things couldn’t get any worse, a huge blue pony named Dash lumbered through the crowd, heading north on the trail. She was causing an even bigger traffic jam. Dash was not the only creature heading the wrong way that morning. A slovenly purple pony named Twilight had been fast asleep in a tree. Now the heavy thuds of the migrating animals’ footsteps woke her up. As she slipped from her perch, she saw an overeager male dark blue pony heading right for her. Oh, no! It was Joe. Twilight moaned. One way or another, conversations with him always turned to ‘’commitment’’---something Twilight was definitely not into! But today good luck was with her. Before Joe could force Twilight into heading south with him, a crowd of dragons came waddling by. The herd of mammals was moving in Joe’s direction. With a little nudge from Twilight, Joe was swept away by them. Twilight was relieved to have slipped out of this commitment at least for a while. ‘’Whew! That was close.’’ Twilight turned around to head in the opposite direction. Squish! Something warm and mushy splattered under her foot. Yuck---dragon poop. She quickly struggled to wipe her paws on a pile of leaves. Talk about a bad move! Those leaves were part of a salad belonging to two dragons, Wheezie and Zak. Clearly they were not happy to have Twilight ruin their lunch. The dragons charged at her. Just as the purple pony sped away…bam! She slammed right into Dash, the grumpy blue pony! Twilight hid behind Dash’s thick, hairy rear leg. ‘’Don’t let them impale me! Please. I wanna live,’’ she begged. ‘’Get off me,’’ Dash said to a very scared Twilight. Zak and Wheezie were ready to attack. ‘’Wait a minute. I thought dragons were vegetarians.’’ ‘’Who said we’re gonna eat her after we kill her?’’ Zak asked. Dash looked disgusted. ‘’I don’t like animals that kill for pleasure!’’ she declared. Zak and Wheezie didn’t care what Dash liked. They charged toward her, pushing the blue pony to the edge of a cliff. But with a single powerful stroke of her muscular paws, Dash struck back, slamming Zak to the ground. Then she grabbed Wheezie with her massive paws and tossed her high in the air. The dragon landed with a bellowing thud. Twilight peered out from behind the safety of Dash’s leg. ‘’Woo-hoo! We did it!’’ she cheered, once she was sure the dragons weren’t getting up. She threw her arms around Dash’s paws, sending them both over the edge of the cliff. When they landed, Twilight was plastered to Dash’s face. ‘’You have beautiful eyes,’’ she said. Dash didn’t reply. She simply shook Twilight loose and walked away. ‘’Whoa! We make a great team!’’ Twilight called after her. ‘’What d’ya say we just head south together?’’ ‘’Great! Yeah! Jump on my back and relax the whole way!’’ ‘’Wow, really?’’ ‘’No,’’ Dash snapped back. ‘’Wait, aren’t you going south?’’ Twilight asked, running after her. Dash didn’t answer. She just kept walking north. Twilight considered her options. It was awfully cold up where Dash was heading. But when Zak and Wheezie recovered, they were going to be very upset. ‘’That whole south thing is way overrated,’’ Twilight finally declared. ‘’The heat, the crowds---who needs it?’’ ‘’You just want a bodyguard so you don’t become somebody’s side dish,’’ Dash countered. ‘’You’re a very shrewd mammal,’’ Twilight told her new traveling companion. Meanwhile, as Twilight and Dash were heading north, a pack of ponies was plotting an attack of their own. Big Bird, the leader of the pack, was furious with a tribe of humans who had moved into his territory. The humans had killed half of his ponies and were now wearing their skins to keep warm. He wanted revenge. Big Bird sat on a cliff and watched from above as Linus, the human tribe’s leader, played with his infant son, Charlie Brown. ‘’Isn’t it nice he’ll be joining us for breakfast?’’ Big Bird said to Fluttershy, his second-in-command. ‘’It wouldn’t be breakfast without him,’’ Fluttershy answered. ‘’Let’s show that human what happens when he messes with ponies.’’ ‘’Alert the troops,’’ Big Bird said to Fluttershy. ‘’We attack at dawn. Bring me that baby, Fluttershy, and bring it alive.’’ Later that evening Dash collected some branches and brush from the plain to build a shelter. Twilight followed lazily, dragging one dead branch behind her. ‘’That’s your shelter?’’ ‘’Hey, you’re a big guy, you got a lot of wood. I’m a little guy.’’ ‘’You got half a stick.’’ ‘’Yeah, but with my little stick and my highly evolved brain…ow!’’ She poked herself in the eye. ‘’I shall create fire.’’ Two hours later Twilight was still rubbing two sticks together when it started to hail. Dash was protected in her sturdy lean-to. ‘’Any chance I could squeeze in there, Rainbow Dash, ol’ pal?’’ But Rainbow Dash was fast asleep. Disheartened, Twilight tried to shield herself under Rainbow Dash’s tail as the hail pounded down all around her. The ponies attacked the human camp at dawn. The surprise raid caught the tribe off guard. They fought hard, but the ponies were too powerful. Lucy, Linus’ wife, raced through the campsite clutching her son, Charlie Brown. Fluttershy was hot on her trail. She chased her to a cliff overlooking a thundering waterfall. Lucy knew if she stayed on the cliff, the yellow pony would surely kill her and her baby. If she jumped, at least Charlie Brown’s life might be spared. Fluttershy watched, wide-eyed, as mother and baby disappeared over the cliff. She had to find the child---alive. Twilight and Dash were completely unaware that humans and ponies had been battling in the mountains above them. Lucy and Charlie Brown had tumbled over the raging falls and floated downstream. The sight of the injured human mother clutching her baby in the river stunned them. They approached Lucy cautiously. She looked pleadingly into Dash’s eyes and used all of her remaining strength to push her child toward the blue pony. As Dash gently closed her paws around Charlie Brown, Lucy smiled gratefully and closed her eyes. Dash and Twilight looked curiously at the human infant. He was just waking up. When he saw Twilight’s face, he smiled. ‘’Look at that! He’s okay,’’ Twilight cried. When she looked back at the water, the baby’s mother was gone. Dash placed the baby on the ground with care and walked off. Twilight looked at her curiously. ‘’Aren’t you forgetting something?’’ she asked. ‘’No,’’ Dash replied. ‘’But you just saved him.’’ Dash stared pointedly at Twilight. ‘’I’m still trying to get rid of the last thing I saved.’’ ‘’But you can’t leave him here.’’ Just then, Twilight saw smoke rising from a hilltop in the distance. She picked up the baby. ‘’That’s his herd, right up the hill,’’ she shouted. ‘’We should return him.’’ Dash sighed with exasperation. ‘’Let’s get something straight here, okay? There is no we!’’ she insisted. ‘’There never was a we. In fact, without me, there wouldn’t even be a you. Listen very carefully. I’m…not…going!’’ She gestured with her paws to make her point. ‘’Fine, be a jerk,’’ Twilight declared. ‘’I’ll take care of him.’’ She stuck the baby under one arm and began inching up the side of the sheer cliff as best she could. Unfortunately, purple ponies are not known for their climbing skills. She quickly lost her footing. As Twilight stumbled, Charlie Brown slid out of her grip. The baby tumbled through the air! Twilight grabbed onto the nearest rock, then stuck her paw out just in time to catch the baby by his diaper. Charlie Brown was safe---but only for an instant. The stitching on the side of the diaper tore. Charlie Brown slipped free and began to fall toward the ground. In a flash, Fluttershy leaped from a lower ledge on the cliff and snatched up Charlie Brown in her teeth. Seeing the helpless infant in the mouth of an evil yellow pony was more than Dash could take. She moved toward Fluttershy and whacked her with her paws. Fluttershy dropped the baby in surprise. Dash scooped up Charlie Brown. ‘’That pink thing is mine!’’ Fluttershy spat out. ‘’Ah, no,’’ Twilight disagreed as she crawled sheepishly down from the mountain. ‘’Actually, that pink thing belongs to us.’’ Fluttershy looked from the massive blue pony to the mangy purple pony. ‘’Us?’’ she said mockingly. ‘’You two are a bit of an odd couple.’’ Dash sighed and reminded Twilight, ‘’There is no us!’’ ‘’The baby? Please. I was just returning him to his herd,’’ Fluttershy lied. Dash knew better. She wasn’t turning the baby over to a vicious yellow pony. Of course, that left her with only one option. She would have to take the baby back to the human camp---with Twilight. But the humans were long gone, and Fluttershy knew it. ‘’They left this morning,’’ she assured Dash. The yellow pony yawned confidently, making sure Dash and Twilight saw her razor-sharp teeth. Obviously the yellow pony was not leaving this spot without that baby. Dash knew they needed Fluttershy’s tracking skills to lead them to the humans, so she agreed to let Fluttershy come along, while she and Twilight held on to the baby. Leading the way for these two wasn’t what Fluttershy had in mind, but at least she could keep an eye on the kid. The mission would be tough. Fluttershy had no idea how tough. Neither did Dash or Twilight. When Charlie Brown began to cry, Twilight tried to calm him down, but the slippery, squirming child kept howling at the top of his lungs. Charlie Brown’s wailing seemed to get louder with every step they took. The animals tried everything to stop him---Twilight even changed his dirty diaper! But the baby just kept crying. Finally, Fluttershy decided to take matters into her own paws. The yellow pony covered her eyes and moved her face closer to Charlie Brown’s. ‘’Where’s the baby?’’ she cooed. She uncovered her eyes and jumped toward Charlie Brown. ‘’There he is!’’ But playing peekaboo with a yellow pony made the baby cry even harder. ‘’Stop it! You’re scaring him,’’ Dash yelled, grabbing Charlie Brown. ‘’I bet he’s hungry,’’ Twilight said. At the same time all three animals spotted a large melon sitting on the ground nearby. ‘’Food!’’ they shouted. Dash ran over to pick up the melon. As she did, a strange-looking creature called a penguin bird ran by and grabbed it from her. Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy chased the bird. Charlie Brown howled. There was no time to waste! The trio followed the funny bird until they encountered an entire army of penguins. Dash asked them to return the melon she had found. ‘’Junior’s hungry.’’ ‘’No way!’’ Skipper, the head penguin, exclaimed. ‘’This is our private stockpile for Ponyville. Subarctic temperatures will force us underground for a million billion years.’’ Dash laughed. ‘’So you got three melons?’’ ‘’If you weren’t smart enough to plan ahead, then doom on you!’’ cried Skipper. But it was doom on the penguins. Skipper pounced on the first melon, accidentally shooting it to Charlie Brown. An army of tae kwon penguins retrieved it and passed it over their shoulders from one penguin to the next, until the last penguin tossed it over a cliff! Three penguins chased the second melon. But instead of saving it, the penguins and the melon fell into a pit of boiling water. As the last melon bounced back and forth between penguins, Twilight managed to catch it, tackle a tower of penguins, and still land on her feet in front of Dash, Fluttershy, and Charlie Brown. She did a victory dance, spiking the melon to the ground. Splat! Soon the only sound in the camp came from Charlie Brown, who was happily munching on the squashed melon. Mission accomplished. After Charlie Brown’s tasty dinner, it was time to set up camp for the night. As they slept, Rarity and Tom, two ponies from Big Bird’s pack, snuck up and hid in the bushes to check on Fluttershy’s progress. Fluttershy was not happy to see them. ‘’Tracking down helpless infants too difficult for you?’’ Tom whispered to Fluttershy in a sarcastic tone. ‘’Big Bird is getting tired of waiting.’’ ‘’He said come back with the baby or don’t come back at all,’’ Rarity added. Fluttershy bared her teeth in a sinister grin. ‘’I have a message for Big Bird. Tell him I’m bringing the baby, and tell him I’m bringing a…blue pony!’’ Fluttershy moved aside so that Rarity and Tom could see Dash asleep with Charlie Brown curled up in her paws. ‘’Mmmm. Look at all that meat,’’ Rarity remarked, licking her chops. ‘’Let’s get her!’’ She raced toward Dash. Fluttershy stopped her in her tracks. ‘’Not yet!’’ she insisted. ‘’We’ll need the whole pack to bring this blue pony down. Get everyone ready.’’ The next morning Dash awoke early. She stretched her limbs wearily, then looked around for Charlie Brown. But the baby was nowhere to be found. Quickly, Dash bounded over to Fluttershy. The sleeping pony sprang to her paws. ‘’Where’s the baby?’’ Dash demanded. ‘’What do you mean ‘where’s the baby’?’’ Fluttershy repeated with a nervous gulp. ‘’You lost it?’’ Dash and Fluttershy realized at the same time that Twilight was missing, too! What was she up to? Just as they had suspected, Charlie Brown was with Twilight. They were taking a relaxing mud bath along with two female dogs, Rita and Georgette, who thought Charlie Brown was absolutely adorable. ‘’What’s the matter with you?’’ Dash asked Twilight as she removed Charlie Brown from the tub. Twilight jumped out and ran after Dash. ‘’Please, I’m begging you, I need him.’’ ‘’What, a good-looking gal like you?’’ the blue pony joked. Dash plunked Charlie Brown down on a thick tree branch as Twilight swaggered back to the tub alone. But by the time the purple pony got there, the ladies were gone. In their place sat Zak and Wheezie! Twilight wasn’t sticking around to chat with them. They were still steaming mad. In the distance, Twilight could hear Charlie Brown giggling and cooing. ‘’What are you looking at, bone bag?’’ Dash asked. It was hard for her to imagine this little human baby growing up to be a great predator. ‘’You’re just a little patch of fur. No fangs. No claws. Just folds of skin wrapped in mush. What kind of threat are you?’’ Charlie Brown reached over to show her, yanking out the biggest nose hair he could grab onto. ‘’Ow!’’ yelled Dash. In a strange sort of way, Dash was growing fond of Charlie Brown. Meanwhile, back at the hot tub, Twilight heard another familiar voice. It was Joe’s. In an attempt to dash away, Twilight smacked right into Fluttershy. ‘’Put me in your mouth,’’ the purple pony pleaded. ‘’Get away from me,’’ Fluttershy said. But Twilight persisted. She bit the yellow pony on her paw. When Fluttershy screamed with surprise, Twilight slipped between her open jaws and played dead. But Joe was not fooled. He was just disgusted. ‘’Eat her,’’ he told Fluttershy. For a moment Twilight feared Fluttershy might. Twilight, Dash, Fluttershy, and Charlie Brown continued on their journey. The weather was turning colder now. Tall, icy glaciers surrounded them and a thick layer of snow covered the ground. Fluttershy walked ahead of the others. She noticed a pony’s pawprint in the snow. She quickly rubbed it out and made a human footprint in its place. She had to get the baby to Big Bird soon. She showed the footprint to the others and led them off in that direction. A little while later Fluttershy spotted real human footprints, then real humans! She couldn’t let Twilight or Dash see them, too. She looked around and noticed a wide crevice running through a nearby glacier. She grinned in relief. ‘’Hey, great news! I found a shortcut,’’ she called to Dash as she pointed to the long, narrow channel that cut through the frozen ice. ‘’If we slip through there, we can beat the humans to the pass and drop the baby off on their trail. If we go the long way, we might miss them.’’ Dash looked at the crevice. It was narrow, jagged, and seemingly endless. ‘’Through there? What do you take me for?’’ she demanded. Before Fluttershy could respond, Twilight walked toward them. ‘’Hey, guys, check it out!’’ She held two icicles on either side of her throat. She stumbled around, pretending that an icicle had pierced her through the neck. Fluttershy could tell Dash had had it with Twilight’s antics. ‘’This time tomorrow you could be a free blue pony,’’ Fluttershy tempted her. Freedom seemed like a great idea. ‘’Twilight, the yellow pony found a shortcut,’’ Dash announced. Twilight gazed up at the huge mountain of ice above her. Just looking at it made her dizzy. ‘’No, thanks. I choose life,’’ she declared. ‘’Then I suggest you take the shortcut,’’ Fluttershy replied in a menacing tone. ‘’Are you threatening me?’’ Twilight asked suspiciously. Fluttershy couldn’t bear it anymore. ‘’Move, purple pony!’’ she ordered with a thundering roar. The sound of Fluttershy’s voice echoed through the frozen mountains. The echo turned into a loud rumble, then the ground began to shake. Within seconds, an avalanche of snow and ice raced down the mountain---straight toward them! ‘’Way to go, yellow pony,’’ Twilight said. Fluttershy flashed her an evil look. The snow was coming so fast, there was no time to argue. ‘’Get under here, quick,’’ Fluttershy called. They rushed beneath the shelter of an overhang as showers of rock and ice fell all around them. And then the avalanche stopped, just as suddenly as it had begun. A thirty-foot wall of snow now blocked their path. There was no way out---except through the crevice in the glacier. ‘’Okay. I vote shortcut,’’ Dash said. As she entered the space between the crevice, Twilight looked up at the icy ceiling overhead. Shafts of light shone down on the path before her. Intricate web designs formed by cracks in the ice covered the surface of the walls. The place seemed almost magical. As Twilight turned a corner, she came face-to-face with a huge dinosaur, frozen forever in the ice. In another cave she noticed several wide-eyed, toothy figures, each one larger and more evolved than the last. The final figure looked remarkably like Twilight. Twilight gulped and hurried to catch up with the others. ‘’Will you keep up, please?’’ Dash ordered. ‘’It’s hard enough to keep track of one baby.’’ Without any of them noticing, Charlie Brown climbed off Dash’s back and onto a slippery overhang. The next thing they knew, Charlie Brown was shooting straight past them on a steep slide made of ice. Within seconds he had sailed into a tunnel and was completely out of sight. Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy took off after him. The slide was slick and cold. The animals picked up speed---whipping around turns, whooshing over ice bumps, and swirling through one ice tunnel after another. Charlie Brown squealed with joy as he bounced out of the animals’ reach. ‘’Yeow!’’ Dash screamed as she sailed sideways around a turn. Twilight shot out from yet another ice tunnel and landed with a thud on Dash’s shoulders. She grabbed the blue pony’s huge paws and tried to steer. Fluttershy shot out from that same tunnel and landed pawsfirst on Dash’s huge rear end. ‘’Yeow!’’ Dash shouted again as she and the others slipped down the slide. A huge chunk of ice blocked the animals’ path. Slam! They smashed right into it. Now the giant iceberg was under them. They rode it like a sled, faster and faster. Twilight was the first to reach Charlie Brown. She grabbed the baby and held on tight. Suddenly, Twilight’s body left the ground. She and Charlie Brown flew through the air. Finally, they crashed into a huge mound of snow with Fluttershy and Dash right behind them. Fluttershy poked her head up from the mountain of snow. ‘’Woo! Who’s up for round two?’’ she exclaimed. Dash and Twilight were not eager to repeat the experience. But Charlie Brown seemed happy. He shook off the snow and began crawling away in search of his next adventure. The animals hurried off after him. Twilight, Fluttershy, Dash, and Charlie Brown soon found themselves in a huge cavern. ‘’Look! Yellow ponies!’’ Twilight called out as she studied the side of the cave. The wall was covered with paintings---the kind the humans made. ‘’So, um, where are the purple ponies? You never see any purple ponies in these things.’’ Twilight went close to another drawing. ‘’Look, Rainbow Dash---a blue pony!’’ Dash rolled her eyes. ‘’Ooo. Pinch me,’’ she mumbled sarcastically. ‘’Hey, this fat one looks like you,’’ Twilight continued. ‘’Look, she’s playing with her kid. That’s your problem. That’s what blue ponies are supposed to do. Find a he-blue-pony, have a little baby blue pony---‘’ ‘’Twilight,’’ Fluttershy interrupted. Dash stood perfectly still and stared at the painting with wide, sad eyes. Fluttershy came up beside her and studied the drawings closely, too. Beside the picture of the blue pony family playing was a drawing of humans with spears and another of the he-blue-pony and his child being trapped and hunted by the humans. Fluttershy realized that this wasn’t just any blue pony family. It was Dash’s family. ‘’Twilight,’’ Fluttershy urged. ‘’Shut up.’’ ‘’…oh,’’ Twilight said, finally understanding what Fluttershy was trying to tell her. There was utter silence in the cave. Nobody said anything. Dash reached out her paws to stroke the picture of her only child. Just as her paws touched the image, it bumped Charlie Brown’s tiny hand. Charlie Brown looked up at Dash with innocent eyes, stumbling slightly with his arms held out straight, awaiting a hug. Dash scooped him up with her paws and held him close. She was determined to keep this baby safe. All this emotion was too much for Twilight. She sniffled sadly, then wiped a big green glob off the end of her nose and rubbed it onto Fluttershy. Dash put Charlie Brown on her back and left the cave without a word. Twilight waddled out after her. Fluttershy lingered a moment longer, taking one last look at the paintings. She thought of the pain the hunters had caused Dash. Now she was about to do the same. While Charlie Brown was in the comfort of the cave with his newfound friends, Charlie Brown’s dad, Linus, still searched the snow-covered valley for his son. The wolves tracking Charlie Brown had lost his scent. It was time to give up the search. Linus clutched Charlie Brown’s necklace in the palm of his hand. Traces of the boy may have faded in the snow but never from Linus’ heart. As the animals left the cave, they caught a glimpse of a large volcano in the distance. ‘’Well, would you look at that. The yellow pony actually did it! There’s Half-Peak. How did I ever doubt you?’’ Dash asked Fluttershy. Twilight knew they were almost at Glacier Pass, where the humans were headed. ‘’Did you hear that, little fellow?’’ she said to Charlie Brown. ‘’You’re almost home.’’ Twilight stood still for a moment and looked down at her paws. Suddenly, she noticed that the snow-covered land beneath her felt awfully warm. ‘’My feet are sweating,’’ she mumbled with surprise. ‘’Do we have to get a news flash every time your body does something?’’ Fluttershy hissed. But Twilight wasn’t kidding. Her paws were really hot. And to make matters worse, she could hear a low, deep rumbling coming from under her toes. ‘’Tell me that was your stomach,’’ Dash asked nervously. ‘’I’m sure it was just thunder,’’ Twilight replied in a shaky voice. ‘’From under…ground?’’ Suddenly, a blast of hot lava exploded from underneath the ice. Boom! Boom! Boom! Fountains of molten earth burst forth at a rapid pace. The sizzling liquid rock melted the snow, leaving large lakes in its place. Except for a few slim ice bridges spanning the ravine, the ground beneath the animals’ paws was quickly disappearing. ‘’Run!’’ they all shouted. As they tried to make their way to more solid ground, a section of ice between Fluttershy and Twilight melted away. The yellow pony was left on a small island of her own. Quickly she leaped to the larger mound that held Dash and Twilight. Twilight looked from the melting ice beneath her paws to the solid ground that lay across a river of lava. ‘’Wow! I wish I could jump like that.’’ Dash kicked Twilight hard from behind. ‘’Wish granted,’’ the blue pony declared. Then she jumped after Twilight, landing beside her. Fluttershy leaped out and tried to join them, but she missed her mark and landed on a crumbling bridge. She dug her paws into the surface and struggled to pull herself up. Dash raced back to the bridge to help. ‘’Hold on!’’ she called to Fluttershy. But Fluttershy couldn’t hold on any longer. Her paws began to slip. Dash stretched her paws as far as she could to Fluttershy, who grabbed hold of them with her paws. The mighty blue pony flung the yellow pony onto solid ground, saving her from the boiling lava lakes. Crack! The bridge broke and Dash fell, disappearing from their sight. But in no time at all another explosion of lava hurled her high up into the air. Thud. Dash landed motionless in the snow near the others. Twilight raced to her side. ‘’Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash, are you okay? C’mon, say something,’’ she begged. ‘’Anything!’’ ‘’You’re standing on my paws,’’ Dash replied in a small, weak voice. ‘’Yay, you’re okay!’’ Twilight cheered. ‘’Why did you do that?’’ the yellow pony asked. ‘’You could’ve died trying to save me.’’ ‘’That’s what you do in a herd,’’ the blue pony explained simply. ‘’You look out for each other.’’ ‘’Well, thanks,’’ Fluttershy said, clearly uncomfortable. No one in her own pack had ever done anything like that for her before. It had always been every pony for herself. ‘’We’re the weirdest herd I’ve ever seen,’’ Twilight joked. The animals found a place to take a much-needed rest at the top of the mountain. As Dash kept an eye on Charlie Brown, Twilight drew a picture of a purple pony. ‘’What are you doing?’’ Fluttershy asked. ‘’Putting purple ponies on the map,’’ Twilight replied. Dash grabbed the rock from Twilight and began to draw a more realistic-looking purple pony. ‘’Make her rounder,’’ cried Fluttershy. ‘’And stupider.’’ Twilight snatched the rock back and was crossing out the chubby, pear-shaped purple pony Dash had drawn when sparks began to fly. ‘’I’m a genius,’’ Twilight shouted. Before long she and Fluttershy were bickering as usual in the glow of the warm, crackling fire Twilight had built using the rock as flint. ‘’Hey, lovebirds, would you look at this,’’ Dash remarked. Charlie Brown was standing on his own and trying to walk for the first time. ‘’Come here, you little biped,’’ Twilight urged. ‘’Come to Aunt Twilight.’’ But Charlie Brown didn’t move in Twilight’s direction. Instead he wobbled over to Fluttershy. ‘’No, no, no. Go to her.’’ Fluttershy pointed to Dash. Just as Charlie Brown reached the yellow pony, he stumbled and grabbed onto Fluttershy’s leg for support. The yellow pony gave in and gently raised her paw to help the baby to his feet. ‘’Aw, our little guy’s growing up!’’ Twilight exclaimed. In the morning, as the weary travelers continued their journey toward Half-Peak, Fluttershy kept a nervous eye out for the other ponies. The blue pony had risked her life to save Fluttershy. How could Fluttershy go ahead with the plan to lead the animals into Big Bird’s trap? She couldn’t, but she didn’t know how to stop it now. ‘’Maybe we shouldn’t do this,’’ Fluttershy said. ‘’If we save the kid, he’ll grow up to be a hunter.’’ ‘’Maybe because we saved him, he won’t hunt us,’’ Twilight said. ‘’Yeah, and maybe he’ll grow fur and a long, skinny neck and call you Mama,’’ Fluttershy quipped. She let Dash and Twilight get ahead of her as she tried to figure out what to do. Fluttershy could see flashes of pony fur on the next hill. ‘’Get down!’’ she warned Twilight and Dash suddenly. ‘’Follow me!’’ ‘’What’s going on?’’ Twilight asked. ‘’At the bottom of Half-Peak there’s an ambush waiting for you,’’ Fluttershy admitted with honest regret. ‘’I was supposed to get the baby, but then you…’’ ‘’You set us up!’’ Dash exclaimed. ‘’You brought us home for dinner!’’ ‘’That’s it! You’re outta the herd!’’ Twilight added angrily. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ Fluttershy said. Dash charged toward the yellow pony and pinned her to the wall. She pressed one of her sharp paws under Fluttershy’s chin. ‘’You’re not sorry. Not yet.’’ ‘’Listen, I can help you,’’ Fluttershy promised. ‘’You have to trust me.’’ ‘’Trust you?’’ Dash exclaimed. ‘’Why in the world would we trust you?’’ Fluttershy looked her straight in the eye. ‘’Because I’m your only chance.’’ Fluttershy was right. Twilight and Dash would have to follow the yellow pony’s orders and hope for the best. They hid quietly and watched as the yellow pony rejoined her pack. ‘’Fluttershy, I was beginning to worry about you,’’ Big Bird greeted her. ‘’I see the purple pony! And she’s got the baby!’’ Rarity exclaimed. Big Bird turned back to the pack. ‘’Don’t give away your positions until you see the blue pony,’’ he ordered. Big Bird’s directions did not fit in with Fluttershy’s plans. She wanted the ponies to attack right away. She crept over to Rarity and whispered in her ear, ‘’What are you waiting for? Now, Rarity, get ‘em!’’ Rarity bolted out from behind the rock. The others followed close behind her. ‘’No! I said, wait for the blue pony!’’ Big Bird shouted. But it was too late. Rarity leaped onto a bank of very deep snow and headed for the purple pony. Twilight slid away as fast as she could while all the ponies chased her. She was wearing skis fashioned from tree branches. One fell off, but she continued to whisk down the slope until she fell headfirst into a snowdrift, sending Charlie Brown flying into the air. Big Bird grabbed the baby. He whipped the blanket off and stared in surprise. Charlie Brown was not there. Big Bird had captured a baby made of snow. Twilight had tricked him! Big Bird smashed the snow baby with his mighty feather and roared with anger. ‘’Get her!’’ Twilight turned and grabbed Charlie Brown, ducking just in time to see Rarity leaping at her. Rarity landed headfirst in a sheet of rock. Meanwhile, Tom and Applejack were headed straight toward Twilight, but Dash was ready for them. She held a large lava spike in her paw. She swung it and whacked the ponies off the ledge. Big Bird stared at Dash, his eyes blazing. Then Fluttershy appeared from around a bend. ‘’C’mon, Fluttershy,’’ Big Bird called. ‘’Let’s bring this blue pony down!’’ Fluttershy blocked his way. ‘’Leave the blue pony alone,’’ she ordered. Big Bird was confused. Then he understood that Fluttershy had deceived him. ‘’Fine,’’ Big Bird snarled. ‘’I’ll take you down first.’’ He leaped toward Fluttershy. The two animals tussled for a moment, then Big Bird sent Fluttershy reeling with a punch. Big Bird turned back to Dash, stalking her. Applejack and Tom were on their paws again and ready to help. Dash backed away from the ponies and smacked into a rock wall with a thud. She was trapped! Big Bird charged toward Dash. But just before he reached her, Fluttershy leaped between them to protect Dash. As Big Bird’s razor-sharp teeth pierced her skin, Fluttershy fell to the ground. Although she was growing very weak, Fluttershy found the strength to scratch and paw at Big Bird furiously. Then Dash’s paws lashed out at Big Bird, pushing the wild bird against the side of the icy mountain. Big Bird fell onto his back. Above him a pair of enormous icicles hung from the mountain’s edge. The frozen daggers loosened from the impact and fell directly onto Big Bird. In a moment, the evil bird was gone forever. Twilight, Charlie Brown, and Dash rushed to Fluttershy’s side. Their friend was injured badly. ‘’I’m sorry I set you up,’’ the yellow pony apologized weakly. Then she glanced at Charlie Brown. ‘’You’ll have to return the little guy without me. Once those humans get to the pass you’ll never catch them,’’ warned Fluttershy. ‘’You didn’t have to do that,’’ Dash told Fluttershy gratefully. Fluttershy managed a small smile. ‘’That’s what you do in a herd.’’ Charlie Brown reached out and hugged her hard. After a moment Dash placed Charlie Brown on her back. It was time to give the boy back to his people. Dash spotted the humans just as they were about to enter Glacier Pass. Sadly, Linus placed Charlie Brown’s necklace on a mound of snow before rejoining his tribe. Suddenly, Dash and Twilight were standing before him. Not sure of their intentions, Linus lifted his spear in defense. With her paws, Dash grabbed the spear from Linus and tossed it to the ground. Seeing this, the other humans charged toward the blue pony, ready to attack. Then, from behind the large furry tuft on Dash’s head, Charlie Brown’s smiling face appeared. Stunned, Linus signaled for his men to fall back. Dash gently handed Charlie Brown to his father and watched as Linus hugged his son. With their mission complete, it was time for Dash and Twilight to be on their way. But Charlie Brown squealed and squirmed for his father to put him down. He waddled over to Twilight and Dash for a final hug. ‘’Don’t forget about us, okay?’’ Twilight said. ‘’We won’t forget about you,’’ Dash promised, handing Charlie Brown back to his father. Linus was grateful to be reunited with his son. He thanked Dash by scooping Charlie Brown’s necklace out of the snow and gently draping it on one of the blue pony’s paws. Dash would always treasure this special gift. Twilight wiped her eyes. ‘’Good-bye. Good-bye,’’ she called as she waved, practically sobbing. She watched as Charlie Brown and Linus grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Then he noticed the child had covered his eyes and was playing peekaboo. Twilight played along, trying to smile. ‘’That’s right! Where’s the baby?’’ ‘’Come on, Twilight. Let’s head south.’’ As the humans vanished over the hill, Dash turned away---and froze in her tracks. Fluttershy was limping toward her. ‘’Bye,’’ Twilight said one final time. ‘’Save your breath, Twilight. You know humans can’t talk.’’ The purple pony whirled around when she heard that familiar voice, her face lighting up with joy. ‘’Fluttershy! You’re okay!’’ ‘’Nine lives, baby.’’ Twilight ran to her, tackled her playfully, then planted a big kiss right on the yellow pony’s nose. Dash wandered over. ‘’Welcome back. Want a lift?’’ ‘’No, thanks. I’ve gotta save whatever dignity I’ve got left.’’ ‘’I’ll take that lift,’’ Twilight said hopefully to Dash. ‘’Pick me up, buddy! This is going to be the best winter ever. I’m telling you, I’ll show you all my favorite watering holes….’’ Dash wrapped her paws around Twilight and placed her on her back, then headed south with Fluttershy loping alongside. This special herd was together again. EPILOGUE A tiny iceberg floated in the ocean. It carried the piglet inside, still clutching his acorn. As the icy block washed up on shore, the acorn rolled out and settled in the sand. But only briefly. A wave caught it and washed it out to sea again. The piglet let out a scream and broke free of the ice. Running blindly, he smacked right into a tree. Surprisingly, a coconut dropped into the sand nearby. The little piglet jumped for joy. He lifted the coconut high above his head and…bam. He planted it in the sand with all his might. Then, suddenly, his ears began to twitch. A crack in the sand whipped up the beach, swished through the trees, seared the rocks in half, and scurried up to the summit of a dormant volcano. Ka-boom! Here we go again….